Daniel Godston

Toward Oulipo

Daniel Godston teaches poetry and other art forms to young people and adults in the Chicago area. His poetry and fiction have appeared in Chase Park, Versal, 580 Split, Kyoto Journal, California Quarterly, after hours, Edgz, Kyunghyang Shinmun, and other publications, while his articles have appeared in Teaching Artist Journal, among other publications.

Notes: 53-Word Note on “Roberts & Scalito U. S. Senate Judiciary Hearings Cento Sestina”: Non-italicized sections were taken from a transcript of John Roberts’ U. S. Senate Judiciary Hearings; italicized sections came from a transcript of Samuel Alita’s hearings. The form of this poem was inspired by François Le Lionnais’ “Lipo: First Manifesto,” especially the statement about reinvigorating the cento.

53-Word Note on “As You Like It: Fortress, Snowballs, Tangerine, Avocado”: This piece steals a lot from Warren Motte’s translation of Raymond Queneau’s “A Story as You Like It” (found in Oulipo: A Primer of Potential Literature). Queneau’s piece is a compact literary gem: is it a poem, a short story, or a web of possibilities whose paths lead the reader in many directions?